Effective karate - a little bit of Junro in my karate

It's no secret that JKS South Africa is devoting a fair amount of time and effort to introduce the Junro katas into our syllabus.
 

One could very well ask... why? 

There are a number of other katas that address specific needs - so why stop at Junro? Why not add another 5 or 10 katas?

Asai Sensei provided some guidance on the purpose and value of the Junro katas including: 

 

• using stance changes to alter distance
• double hand techniques
• spinning and lateral movement
• the use of mae-ashi mae-geri 
• the importance of neko-ashi dachi

 

Elevating the role of neko-ashi dachi opens new insight into our karate. People correctly characterise Shotokan as a large, expansive style of karate, with deep, low stances. What tends to be glossed over is the transition from one stance to the next.  It is clear that Shotokan incorporates small stances as a critical component during movement.  At some point, the feet will be close to one another and weight will be distributed across a small stance.  In most cases, this will be a variation of neko-ashi dachi!

Neko-ashi dachi is present in all our action stances - the front leg in zenkutsu-dachi and sochin-dachi, the back leg in kokutsu-dachi and both legs in kiba-dachi. The value of isolating neko-ashi dachi in the Junro katas is the physical training of the muscles to keep a constant hip height and attitude and, importantly, to develop the single-leg drive during transition.  In the Junro katas we isolate and stress neko-ashi dachi stance. The training, however, is transferable to all our katas and kihon. 

In training it is possible to ensure that, as we transition from one stance to another, we move through neko-ashi dachi to force the hips to remain level (no up-and-down movement or pitching forwards or sideways) and, most importantly, to project the hips towards the target with strong rear-leg drive. This addresses a common problem where karateka use body momentum to move rather than leg drive.

Without losing sight of the objectives behind traditional kata, the lessons of Junro can be incorporated to improve our performance. It is possible to introduce elements of Junro as explicit movements in traditional kata, but this should only be done as a training aid and not a modification of the basic kata. 

We can introduce the elements of Junro kata to develop specific strengths and skills and, as soon as the concepts have been grasped, move back to the traditional movements.  The key lesson is the use of neko-ashi dachi as a transitional stance.  Granted, in reality it is used for a split second only - but it will improve:

1.      Balance - hips remain stable and level - better posture
2.      Power - hips are driven in the direction of application - better impetus
3.      Control - less reliance on momentum - ability to operate without over-extending

So - a little bit of Junro in my karate is a good thing and should be seen as an integral part of our traditional karate.

Alan King

June 2009 

A Parent's view of JKS SA

Dear Shihan Norman

Allow me a few thoughts on what makes JKS SA a great organisation!

When a parent gets involved in karate-do, they do so through the club their child joins. They do not have an idea about the sport, nor do they understand the concept of styles/federations or whether competitions are conducted via WKF/WUKO/WUKF/WKC rules. In short... they have no idea.

As time passes, they start realising that their club actually belongs to a specific style, and then the questions come: Why this style? What makes this style so great? Why should we stay with this style? What does this style do for my kid? Who are the people running this style? What makes them so great?

Allow me then to answer these questions via certain things that I have observed over just the last few months.

Two weeks before the KSA Cadet and Jnr SA's in Durban, my wife had to visit her parents in Bloemfontein and my children went with her. So, to ensure that my son keeps on training, I phoned Quintin Rourke and requested if it will be okay with him if Gerhard trains at his dojo. He said that it was fine and I thought that Gerhard would just join his normal classes to stay in shape. I was totally wrong! Quentin arranged special classes of two hours and more for two days to focus specifically on the KSA SA's, and he did it free of charge!

Thinking back to the JKS SA National Championships, I really experienced a sense of professionalism, from the organisers, all the way through to the referees and judges. At one stage I stood at the top stands and I looked down towards the competition area. I saw a well organised and professionally run tournament. Speaking to competitors and parents, everyone was happy about what they saw and experienced.

A while back, the TORA Karate Institute hosted a team challenge tournament, organised by senseis Pierre and Godfried. What a great success! Well organised, professionally run, and of a very high standard.

This past Saturday Gauteng North held its senior championships and I need to mention the following:

Sensei Andre, in his capacity as the newly elected vice-president of Karate Gauteng North, is really a huge asset in any karate organisation. The manner in which he conducted himself, ensuring that other people are well developed, says a lot. When he walks onto a tatami and shares his knowledge, people listen. One immediately gets the feeling that this is a man who knows what he is talking about, and karateka are all ears and showing respect. He acts on behalf of the students in KAGANO, making decisions for the better of the sport in KAGANO, and thus shows his leadership ability.

Then there's Sensei Lourencia, with all her experience and seniority, who is not afraid to fall in and train with the newly elected KAGANO coach and with a lot of other juniors. Sensei Godfried, at the age of 53, still competing and refereeing. Sensei Kobus, that arrives in his gi, showing his commitment towards KAGANO. Senior JKS karateka that compete and train, even though they are sick with the flu (sensei Chris).

After the GN Snr Championships I drove to Centurion where my son participated in a Champions Challenge. When I arrived there, I found sensei Godfried refereeing, again, An-roux Kok coaching as well as judging, sensei Filip coaching. Sensei Filip later came and coached and supported my son, without even being asked!

I researched the JKS karateka from Gauteng North that were selected for the Commonwealth Karate Championships and discovered that 51% of those karateka are from JKS SA!

I can go on and on and mention a lot of other names as well, but Shihan, in short, what makes JKS SA such a great style to belong to is:

 

•  Leadership
•  Individual commitment
•  Unselfishness
•  Professionalism
•  Support

 

That is why I want to belong to and stay with JKS SA. This is what this style is doing for my son. This is what makes the people that run this style so great!!

Thank you Shihan for allowing me this opportunity to say "THANK YOU" to you and the people that make JKS SA such an unbelievable organisation.

Kind regards

Gerhard van Rensburg

JKS National Gasshuku and Gradings 2009

JKS South Africa held its 2009 National Gasshuku and Dan Gradings at T.O. Strand resort on the South Coast on 25 and 26 September.  The theme for recent gasshukus has been "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"... in recognition of the healthy state of JKS and more directly the fact that we had established a good formula for the national gasshuku - one that combined fun and technical instruction.  Judging by the record attendance this year, the formula seems to be working. 

The theme for this year was "Back to basics", prompted by developments in Japan and the focus on the advanced basics that makes JKS a premier Shotokan karate organisation.  Both in South Africa and Japan, JKS karateka are recognised for their excellence and continue to excel at national and international level.  The Head of JKS, Shihan Kagawa, is also the national coach of the Japanese Karate Federation all styles competition teams.  So perhaps the theme should have been "Back to advanced basics!"

We have spent a lot of effort incorporating the latest Japanese syllabus into JKS South Africa, particularly the five Junro katas.  The Junro katas draw the attention to aspects of our basics that we sometimes take for granted, but which are extremely important to develop effective fighting karate.  As from 2010, all JKS karateka will be tested on the Junro katas for Dan gradings.  For 2009, the candidates were allowed to nominate one of the Junro katas.

Key events were, as usual, the National Dan Gradings, the morning beach training session and the final spirit training session.  The standard of instruction at all sessions was high.



A primary objective of the gasshukus is to expose all karateka to ongoing developments and illustrate the concepts behind the evolving JKS karate.  Clearly, the karateka cannot be expected to absorb everything presented over such a short period, but it does give them a sense of the direction that instructors are driving.  The gasshuku is an opportunity to calibrate and align standards across our group - the instructors are expected to absorb everything presented and to pass this on to their students.

Technical Sessions
Training sessions were held from Friday afternoon through until the end of Saturday, presented by members of the Shihankai and supported by senior instructors (session details are listed below). The first sessions concentrated on advanced basics (the mechanics of movement) and learning the Junro katas.  The later sessions concentrated on judging and basic kumite.   Despite the hard work put in by the karateka, as evidenced by the abundant sweat, there were many, many smiles throughout the weekend as the karateka and instructors really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Personal highlights were the combined power session presented by Shihan Norman and Shihan Pierre, using combinations of inner tubes and punch bags for resistance training.  The legs certainly felt the impact of the added resistance of rubber inner tubes as we worked through the various drills.  When Shihan Pierre threw punch bags into the mix, things really got interesting as karateka tried to exert maximum power at the end of their rubber ropes.

The final working session presented by Shihan Andre and Sensei Lourencia was outstanding as they worked through "basic" kihon, from gohon through to jiyu ippon kumite, using leg techniques for the counters instead of traditional punches.  The intention was to develop penetration, power and accuracy.  Emphasis was placed on making the defender work by attacking with intent, so that both the attacker and the defender develop their fighting skills.

From traditional gohon, the class moved to basic and then semi-free kihon sparring, with greater focus on tai sabaki.  This ties in well with the non-linear nature of the Junro katas.  Besides being hard work and taking most of the karateka out of their comfort zones, especially with the jodan kicks, this type of training introduces great flexibility and spontaneity into kumite if practised regularly and with effort.

Dan Gradings

 

Forty nine candidates attempted their Dan gradings this year, significantly higher than in previous years.  What was pleasing is that the highest level attempted was 3^rd Dan, which indicates that the shodan and nidan ranks are beginning to increase in numbers.

Unfortunately for some of the candidates, not all of them were successful.  As Shihan Norman is fond of reminding people, this simply represents an opportunity to come back stronger and better than before.  Since the National Gradings set the standard it is important that candidates pass on merit and it is natural that not all candidates will succeed at the first attempt.  An indication of the very high standard set is that only three out of eight Sandan candidates were successful and there were only four commended gradings in total.

For most grading candidates the grading test represents the final chapter in months and months of dedicated training. 

Next year

As JKS grows from strength to strength, we have high expectations for the 2010 gasshuku.  Sensei Quentin has already thrown down the challenge with what he promises will be a big contingent of karateka from Bloemfontein next year, many of whom will be attempting their shodan gradings!  I am sure that the Shihankai and the Godan instructors will build on their success of 2009 to make 2010 an even better year.

Thanks are due to the Shihankai and the instructors for their input and leadership over the weekend.  Specific thanks to Sensei Lourencia, assisted by Senseis Ayesha and Beverly, for organising and administration.

Finally, thanks are due to the parents of the many karateka, who support the organisation throughout the year and specifically those that were present during this gasshuku.

Alan King

CONTENT OF TRAINING SESSIONS

Friday

Session 1: Shihan Norman; Sensei Alan King

In the first 30 minutes, Sensei Alan illustrated a sequence of drills designed to develop improved hip drive, the importance of keeping the hips level and at the same height during movement and the relevance of the cat stance as a training aid.

Shihan Norman then incorporated this section into the "Back to 'advanced' basics" theme.  The use of the hips to control movement through proper execution of kihon formed the basis of this session.  Shihan focused on: hip level and constant height, coupled with strong hip rotation, high knee lift and snap back.

Session 2: Shihan Japie; Sensei Lourencia

Junro 1 - the main objective is to illustrate the use of different stances to change the effective fighting distance (hikioshi - push and pull).  This aligns with the first session where we concentrated on the hips in transition from forward stance to cat stance and vice versa.

Junro 2 -the main objective here is the use of double hand techniques and the introduction of front foot mae-geri from cat stance.

Session 3: Shihan Pierre; Shihan Andre

Junro 3 - the main objective is to illustrate the use of different striking techniques.  The kata demands effective use of hip rotation to generate power.

Junro 5 - the main objective here is the use of  basic stepping/shifting movements.

Saturday

 

Session 1: Senseis Kobus, Fillip and Jan

Our normal and 'special' spirit and camaraderie building session continues to be refined and improved.  This year an element of fun was introduced with Sensei Jan running a volley ball and a netball game.  Each point lost resulted in push-ups... naturally!  In parallel, Sensei Fillip ran his tough conditioning class with lots of resistance work in thick beach sand.  Sensei Kobus ran a slightly lighter session with competitive activities like wrestling and "Beach Ironman" - a version of musical chairs.

General comments were that the karateka enjoyed this session very much.

Session 2: Shihan Norman

Junro 4 - Shihan taught the kata with emphasis on correct grouping of moves.  He also introduced some elements of bunkai towards the end of the session.

Sensei Nic gave a short presentation on his 'Fitstop' programme and the importance of remaining healthy.

Session 3: Shihan Norman; Shihan Pierre

This session focused on power training using rubber bands and punch bags.

Shihan Norman focused on drills using rubber inner tubes to develop strength and correct form in the application of both basic and more advanced techniques.

Shihan Pierre built on this, using punch bags either in isolation or with rubber tubes to illustrate techniques for developing strength and explosive power.

In all the drills, the need for correct technique was clearly demonstrated.  Two highlights were the 3-band / 3- punch bag drill and the one-on-one rubber band kumite drill.

Session 4: Shihan Japie

Following on from the success of the Shimpan katas in 2007/2008, Shihan Japie has further developed his session on judging.  This year the junior karateka were given trial runs under the eyes of more experienced judges/referees to introduce them to judging.

Three floors were set up for staged fights to allow judging to be carried out under the eyes of the more experienced referees and judges.

Session 5: Shihan Andre; Sensei Lourencia

Shihan Andre and Sensei Lourencia started with gohon kumite with the focus on penetration and accuracy (both in attack and defence).  From there, the session moved to ippon kumite and then jiyu ippon kumite.  Finally, advanced jiyu ippon using kicks as the counter attacks was introduced.

Session 6: The famous closing session 'spirit training' on the beach. Once again the session was conducted by the 5^th Dans and thoroughly enjoyed by all.